Re: [xml-dev] Do you enjoy neighborhoods where every house looks the same?

From: Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>

To: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:34:09 +0100

>
> I suggest for your consideration the following approach to designing XML Schemas: create an XML Schema that contains a smorgasbord of well-defined, semantically-rich elements. Then, work with your users to create XML instances by picking and choosing elements that are meaningful to their specific needs.
>
But I suggest not doing this if you're the Inland Revenue and you want to accept 30m tax returns a year in XML format. Encouraging your users to be creative and spontaneous in such circumstances might cause your government to go bankrupt. Individuality is all very well, but there's a time and a place.
Michael Kay
Saxonica